Eighteen students from the School of Nursing and Human Services received nursing pins during the last pinning ceremony at Southwestern Michigan College. While many people don't know about pinning ceremonies, they are a tradition of nursing schools for many, many years. "It is one of our traditions that we hold on to," explained to Elaine Foster, dean of Academic Studies and School of Nursing and Human Services. "White uniforms have been replaced by scrubs and the nursing cap is no longer worn these days. The pin, however, continues to be a proud symbol of the profession of nursing," she said. Foster explained to attendees that the pin is proudly displayed in the green and gold colors of SMC with the name of the college encircling it. In the center is the lamp, symbolic of the lamp carried by Florence Nightengale, the founder of modern day nursing. This lamp signifies the care and devotion that the nurse administers to sick and injured patients. "As you receive your pin today ... may you wear it proudly; not only because it symbolized nursing, but it shows you are a graduate of the best nursing program around," Foster concluded. The 18 recipients of the most recent nursing pin are: -Benton Harbor: Sarah Bulat -Cassopolis: Wendy Kendrick Beth Roush -Dowagiac: Steven Fleming Mufadhal Nurbhai Connie Witturp -Edwardsburg: Susanna Buikema -Elkhart: Jessica Myers -Granger: Janice Toth -Lawton, Mich.: Elizabeth Howe -Mishawaka: Wilson Chuma Pamela Wasieleski -Niles: Carmela Amuaugher Nicole Klug Ntombizodwa Mabuya -Paw Paw: Maria Kelin David Neuman -Watervliet: Tasha Romeo Last spring, there were 16 recipients of nursing pins: -Dowagiac: Kelly Delanez Monica Proctor Julie Andersen -Cassopolis: Caroline Kusa -Constantine: Nicole Gardner -St. Joseph: Sarah Obsfeld -Berrien Springs: Ana Huaringa -Niles: Laura Hinegardner Dawn Wilkins Martha Vogl Erica Low -South Bend/Mishawaka: Nicole Oliver Jessie Davis Michelle Runana -Marcellus: Christi Gardner -Edwardsburg: Penny Eichorst